


We'll Build Our Own Happy Ending

by predilection



Series: Riley and Chase's Extraordinary Adventures in Relationship Building [2]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-14 22:17:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4582155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/predilection/pseuds/predilection
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Given the way Riley and Chase got together, they're bound to face some challenges.</p><p>This is made up of stories that take place after <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4477415">Riley Griffin and the Terrifying, But Not All Bad, Very Stressful Day</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lingering Side Effects

**Author's Note:**

> The following are short stories and scenes that explore what happens to Riley and Chase after the events of [Riley Griffin and the Terrifying, But Not All Bad, Very Stressful Day](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4477415). As such, these stories won't make much sense without reading the original fic first.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Riley has some concerns that need to be addressed, and Chase and Riley finally kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted Riley and Chase to kiss in [Riley Griffin and the Terrifying, But Not All Bad, Very Stressful Day](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4477415) but given the stress Riley was under and that Chase and Riley had only just discovered their feelings for each other, it wasn't going to happen. So here's a story that happens shortly afterwards in which Riley and Chase finally do kiss.
> 
> This fic also answers the question: What if the dream had some lingering side effects?

It happens less than an hour after they defeat one of Sledge's monsters. Riley is feeling energized from their victory and like he can do anything. So when Chase leans in slowly and deliberately like he's thinking of kissing Riley, Riley meets him halfway and gently presses their lips together.

It's an easy and comfortable kiss. Riley knows that Chase will like it if he gently nips at his bottom lip, and that Chase will _love_ it if Riley buries his fingers in his hair, so that's what he does. Chase, too, seems to know exactly what Riley likes, and it takes a moment for Riley to realize that this is strange because--

This is their first kiss and they should have no way of knowing what the other likes yet.

Riley puts a hand on the center of Chase's chest and pushes him away at the same time he pulls his own body back.

Chase blinks at him, eyes wide in surprise and confusion, but as he searches Riley's face, his confused expression quickly transforms into one of worry.

"What is it?" Chase asks.

Riley isn't sure how to explain to Chase that he put an end to their kiss not because it was bad, but because it was _too good_.

Riley leans in and rests his forehead against Chase's shoulder. "We've never kissed before," Riley tells him, "but I somehow knew how you liked to be kissed."

Chase is silent for a moment. One of his hands settle on the back of Riley's head as he asks softly, "Does that bother you?"

Riley thinks about it. "Yeah, it does. I think it's the dream again." They've talked about this many times before -- about how sometimes they have information about the other that could've only come from the time they shared a dreamscape. Usually it's little things like Riley knowing what kind of milk Chase drinks even though he never looked inside the fridge in the dream. This is different though. This makes him uncomfortable.

"I'm not sure if I was kissing you the way I did because I wanted to or because I felt like I should. And I'm not sure where this information about kissing you is even coming from." Riley feels his cheeks heat. "I mean, we never kissed when we were dreaming."

"It's probably because I wanted to kiss you," Chase tells him, and he begins to run his fingers gently through Riley's hair. "In the dream, when I woke up and saw you in my room, for a while there, I wanted to kiss you so badly. But I knew you didn't want to be kissed -- that you had more pressing things on your mind. It's probably from then."

After a few moments, Chase asks, "Do you want to know what I felt when I kissed you?"

Riley nods against Chase's shoulder.

Chase tells him, "I knew that you were new to this and unsure, and that you'd appreciate it if I telegraphed my movements so I didn't startle you."

Riley snorts. "So you knew I was inexperienced?"

Chase laughs softly, but it's not an unfriendly sound, and his tone is affectionate when he says, "Not exactly. I got a sense of what would make you the most comfortable. What I'm getting at is that the knowledge I got from the dream helped me decide what to do, but it didn't dictate what I did. I didn't kiss you the way I did because I felt like I had to. I made my own decisions about how to kiss you, even if my decisions were informed by an unlikely source."

Chase's hand in his hair stills. "But the dream affected you differently," Chase points out, "so it might not be the same for you. We can take it slower. The last thing I want is for you feel like you're being forced into something you're not comfortable with." Chase asks him, "What do _you_ want to do?"

Riley closes his eyes, and tries to listen to what he feels deep down in his heart. His answer comes to him instantly: he wants to be with Chase the way he wanted to be with Chase even before the dream world brought them together. He wants to kiss Chase and not worry about what he should be doing. He wonders if that's possible, and knows that there's only one way to find out.

Riley lifts his head from Chase's shoulder and finally answers, "I want to kiss you again."

Chase grins. "That can easily be arranged," he says.

This time, when Chase brings their lips together, Riley does his best to ignore the suggestions his mind is providing for him. Riley tilts his head and deepens the kiss, not because he knows Chase might like it, but because it's what Riley wants to do.

Riley finds that when he tries, he can ignore the suggestions easily. He's hit by a sense of relief when he realizes that he's in control -- that he can disregard the information his mind is providing for him. When Chase groans, Riley feels a second, different sense of relief now that he knows that he can make Chase sound like that without the assistance of any outside information.

Riley suddenly feels ten times lighter than he did a moment before.

When Chase pulls back, he asks Riley, "How was that?"

"Good. Better," Riley replies honestly, and suddenly he can't stop smiling. 

"I'm glad," Chase says and smiles back. "If you have any more thoughts like that, you can share them with me, okay?" He cups the side of Riley's face with one hand, and Riley leans into it as Chase says, "I want you to be happy."

Riley is happy, he realizes -- happier than he's been in a long time. "Okay," he agrees.

A tiny part of Riley's mind tells him that Chase would like it if he turned he head to kiss Chase's palm. Riley saves this information for another time, and instead tilts his head upwards and presses his lips to Chase's again.


	2. The Escape Artist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why was Koda a vet in the dream?

They're cuddling together on the couch one evening watching a TV special on dogs, when Riley thinks to ask Chase, "Do you associate Koda with pets?" 

He hasn't forgotten that Koda was a veterinarian in their shared dream, and while he knows that Koda's career path must've come from Chase's mind, he has yet to figure out why.

"Pets?" Chase asks. "Not particularly." 

Chase doesn't look away from the screen. Riley has learned that sometimes Chase gives the impression that he isn't paying attention when he actually is, so Riley waits to see if Chase will say anything else. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Chase asks him, "Is this about what you experienced in the dream?"

"Yeah," Riley admits. "I still don't understand why Koda was a vet."

"Oh," Chase says and chuckles. "I have an idea about that."

"You do?" Riley asks.

Chase hums. "Back when Koda and I were the only rangers, probably about eight months before you, Shelby and Tyler joined the team, Moana asked me to cat-sit Tabatha."

Riley remembers Tabatha from Moana's retelling of how Chase came to be in possession of an energem.

"I told her I could do it. I figured it couldn't be that hard to watch over a cat for a few days, but I should've known that Tabatha wasn't an ordinary cat," Chase continues.

"What do you mean by 'not ordinary'?" Riley asks.

Chase sighs. "I left her in her cat carrier in the command center for five minutes while I ran up to the café to grab my bag, and when I came back, she had escaped. Apparently, she's good at opening doors."

Riley swallows, immediately realizing the danger. "Did she escape into the caves?" The cave system the command center was built in was vast, and if Tabatha got into it, he wasn't sure how he'd go about finding her.

"Yep," Chase tells him. "I searched everywhere, and then gave up and found Koda." Riley would've done the same in Chase's shoes. Koda knows the caves better than any of them and knows how to track animals. "He found her in the better part of an hour. But I learned that Koda doesn't care much for cats. I think domesticated animals confuse him. He was frowning and holding her at arms-length when he brought her back, even though Tabatha wasn't scratching at him or anything."

"So that's why you associate Koda with pets," Riley says.

Chase laughs. "Actually, it's probably because of what happened next."

Riley raises an eyebrow, curious.

"As I was carrying Tabatha's carrier to the door of the command center, she escaped again."

"Again?" Riley asks, incredulous. "Didn't you secure the door or something after the first escape?"

"You would think to do that," Chase says affectionately, ruffling Riley's hair. "But I didn't bother. I figured she had gotten escaping out of her system and... I was wrong. Thankfully, she was much easier to catch the second time."

"Did you ask Koda for help again?"

Chase's eyes sparkle with amusement when he replies, "Sort of. When I went to find Koda to ask for his help, he was in his room sleeping on his bed, and curled up on his chest was Tabatha."

Riley frowns. "But didn't you say that Koda didn't like cats?"

Chase grins. "Apparently, this cat liked him. I woke him up, and together we got Tabatha back in her carrier, and this time, we tied the door shut with some rope so she couldn't get away."

Riley can easily picture Chase and Koda with frustrated expressions on their faces, working together to secure the small door to a cat carrier and the mental image makes him laugh.

"Yeah," Chase says. "So that's probably why Koda was a vet."

"Because he hates cats?" Riley asks, still laughing.

Chase shrugs, amused. "I didn't say it made sense."

But Riley thinks it does. The more he thinks about the dream, the more he's been able to match different aspects of it with their source components. Riley remembers the Koda from his dream -- the one who kept dog treats in his lab coat -- and smiles as this component clicks into place with Chase's story.

Chase cuddles closer to him as he asks, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," Riley replies, smiling and resting his head on Chase's shoulder.


	3. Let's Throw Away the Script

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase asks Riley to move in with him.

They've been dating for a year when Chase asks Riley, "Do you want to move in with me?"

Riley has been expecting this question for some time, but he still doesn't have an answer he's comfortable with. As much as he wants to live with Chase, there's something about moving into Chase's apartment that bothers him.

He knows it's because of the dream. Every time he tries to imagine himself living with Chase, the first thing that comes to mind is what the dream showed them: their things mingled together in Chase's tiny one-bedroom apartment.

Riley is grateful that the dream brought them together, but he also hates it for the way it makes him feel sometimes -- like he's acting out a script written by someone else.

So when Chase asks Riley if he wants to move in with him, Riley replies, "Not really." Chase immediately looks hurt, and Riley kicks himself for phrasing his answer so carelessly.

"Why not?" Chase asks gently. Chase doesn't get upset the way Riley would if their situations were reversed, and his patience and willingness to understand make Riley's heart flutter

"Every time I think about moving in with you, all I can picture is what the dream showed us," Riley replies honestly. "Like, I think about putting my poster of the Swan Nebula to the left of the television, exactly where it was in the dream, and then I feel uneasy and I know something isn't right."

Chase is quiet for a long moment as he seems to consider this. 

"Is this like our first kiss?" Chase wonders.

"Our first kiss?" Riley asks.

Chase nods. "You've never liked doing exactly what the dream suggested we do."

Riley thinks about it. "No, I don't like it," he agrees. "I want us to figure things out ourselves. I don't want..."

He's not sure how to finish that sentence, so he's relieved when Chase says, "You don't want us to just do what we did in the dream."

Riley swallows, because Chase has hit the nail on the head. "Yeah," he says.

Silence settles between them. It's not quite comfortable and Riley suddenly remembers that the Shelby he encountered in the dream told him that he and Chase had a big fight around the time they moved in together. He wonders if that was somehow his subconscious warning him about this very moment and sighs.

He doesn't want to fight with Chase. 

He doesn't want to move into his apartment either.

"Okay," Chase says at last and Riley's heart leaps into his throat. "Truth is, I always pictured what the dream showed us too, but if you're not comfortable with that, then we won't do that."

They're not fighting, but Riley still feels like he might be disappointing Chase somehow.

"I'm sorry," Riley says automatically.

"For what?" Chase asks. Chase reaches out and cups the side of Riley's face. It's a gesture he's done a thousand times, and that always makes Riley feel at ease. "If you don't want to move in with me, that's okay. You know that, right?"

Riley leans into his hand. There's still something that's making him feel unsettled. He searches through his feelings until he finds it, and then he tells Chase, "But I _want_ to move in with you. I just. Can we move in together somewhere else?"

Chase smiles. "Are you sure?" he asks, still concerned for Riley's well-being -- still prioritizing Riley's ability to choose over his own wants.

This solution feels right to Riley like the thought of moving into Chase's apartment never did. He and Chase would have to build a place of their own on their own. He can't picture what their place would look like at all, and that feels like a relief. 

The discomfort Riley felt about them moving in together begins to fade away and Riley finds himself smiling back at Chase. "Yes," Riley replies.


	4. Everyone Loves Rubik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase meets the real Rubik for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three short scenes featuring Chase, Riley and Rubik.

**I**

Riley's parents end up going on vacation at the same time Riley's brother is out of town, so Riley winds up dog-sitting Rubik. He borrows Tyler's jeep to pick him up while Chase is working, and he's mostly got Rubik set up in their apartment by the time Chase finishes up his shift.

Rubik is in the process of sniffing every square inch of their apartment when Chase comes home, and Chase's attention immediately focuses on Rubik.

"Hey, boy," Chase says, grinning. He kneels as Rubik walks over to check him out and offers Rubik a hand to sniff. "Do you remember me?" Chase asks and then the grin drops off his face.

Rubik doesn't notice. He starts sniffing at Chase's arm and waging his tail excitedly the same way he always does around new people.

"Chase?" Riley asks.

"He doesn't remember me," Chase tells Riley, shifting to pet Rubik behind the ears, right where Rubik enjoys pets the most. He smiles sadly. "I remember him, but he's never met me."

"Oh," Riley says, remembering that Chase spent the better part of a day with Rubik in the dream. 

"Well, I suppose I get to meet him now," Chase says, and his smile looks a little less sad as he continues to rub behind Rubik's ears. Rubik all but melts onto the floor at Chase's feet.

Riley snorts. "You already know what he likes. At this rate, he'll decide you're his new favorite person in less than an hour."

*

**II**

Riley is right. Around forty minutes later, he walks into the living room to find Chase sitting on their couch reading on his tablet. Rubik is lying so that the front half of him is on top of Chase's lap, his tongue hanging out happily as Chase pets him with one hand.

Without thinking about it, Riley takes out his phone and snaps a picture. Chase hears the shutter noise, looks up from his tablet and grins at him, so Riley takes a second photo -- this one of Chase actually looking at the camera.

As Riley looks down at the photo, he remembers the photo he saw on his phone in the dream world -- a photo of Chase and Rubik asleep in his grandmother's chair. Riley had felt a little jealous when he saw that photo, and back then, he couldn't have imagined that he would take a similar photo himself just over a year later.

His photo doesn't look much like the one he remembers from the dream -- they got their couch from one of Shelby's friends, and Chase and Rubik are both awake -- and Riley smiles down at it. Despite its similarities to the photo from the dream, this is a memory he and Chase created independently of it.

Riley sets the image as his phone's wallpaper.

*

**III**

Riley wakes to the sound of a camera shutter.

He raises his head from his pillow and blinks at Chase, who is standing next to their bed in his boxers, phone in hand.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he tells Riley, "but I had to take a photo." He takes a step closer to the bed, and turns his phone around so Riley can see the screen.

On the screen is an image of Riley asleep, half-tangled in the sheets, with Rubik curled up next to his thighs. Even Riley has to admit that it's a cute picture.

He smiles at Chase and then tilts his chin up expectantly. Chase smiles back before taking the hint and bending down to kiss him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unless I happen to write another story (which is unlikely but not impossible), this 'verse is complete. Thank you so much for reading these stories! ♥ I hope you enjoyed them!


End file.
